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Globalization

For businesses that want to compete in the global marketplace, the development of a culturally and internationally competent work force is fundamental to success. Business professionals increasingly seek out international experience as a key to professional development and advancement. The stakes are high, therefore, to ensure that global assignments are both readily available and successful. Yet women lag behind men in taking on international transfers, and the hurdles they face – “trailing” spouses, competing family and community responsibilities, inadequate training, challenging timetables and disadvantages on repatriation – are generally more numerous for women than for men. Through NCRW’s network, professionals and HR leaders are provided with the information they need to develop a business case for change as well as best practices for developing a more diversified talent pool.

Women are beginning to crack Europe's boardroom glass ceilings thanks to government quotas, while their advance in the United States has nearly stalled, a new study found. The inclusion of more women in boardrooms is crucial to boosting financial performance and, in turn, economic growth, the Washington-based Corporate Women Directors International said. The global percentage of board seats held by women grew to 13.8 percent in 2011 from 10.4 percent in 2004, according to the 2011 CWDI report released Friday.

As vice president for talent development at J.P. Morgan, and later as director of recruiting at Deloitte, Jane Hyun noticed a curious thing: Many companies embrace diversity in hiring, going out of their way to bring talent on board from a wide array of cultural backgrounds. However, those recruits often don’t get ahead—and sometimes end up quitting in frustration.

As vice president for talent development at J.P. Morgan, and later as director of recruiting at Deloitte, Jane Hyun noticed a curious thing: Many companies embrace diversity in hiring, going out of their way to bring talent on board from a wide array of cultural backgrounds. However, those recruits often don’t get ahead—and sometimes end up quitting in frustration.

That’s partly because some managers, however well-meaning, “have conflicts with team members from different cultures who see life, and business, through different lenses,” Ms. Hyun said recently.

The problem seems especially acute for Asian-Americans. Consider: Although they make up 5% of the U.S. population, and 16% of all Ivy League college grads (35% at top schools like Stanford and M.I.T.), Asians hold only 2% of executive positions at Fortune 500 companies, according to a recent study by the nonprofit Center for Work-Life Policy.

About 10 years ago, Ms. Hyun, who was born in Korea and moved to New York with her family at age 8, began to study the puzzle of what holds Asian-Americans back.

One result of her research: A 2005 book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians. In it, Ms. Hyun examines the cultural barriers that can work against Asians in American companies. “Asian cultures emphasize putting the group before oneself, humility and respecting authority,” Ms. Hyun explained. “Asian sayings like ‘The loudest duck gets shot’ are totally at odds with Western notions like ‘The squeaky wheel gets the grease’ and ‘Blow your own horn.’ ”

In practical terms, that means many Asians hesitate to promote themselves or their ideas at work. “For example, in meetings with higher-ups, where decision-makers are seeking people’s ideas and suggestions, an Asian-American often will not speak up, for fear of seeming to steal the boss’s thunder,” she said. “Unfortunately, that reticence is perceived by Americans as a lack of ideas, or as disengagement.” Neither is a great career booster.

Ms. Hyun started her consulting company, Hyun & Associates, in 2003. Her aim was twofold: To help high-potential Asian-Americans bridge the cultural divide and get ahead in their careers, and to teach managers of all ethnicities to “build a new toolbox of communication styles. We call it developing ‘cultural fluency.’ ”

Her timing couldn’t have been better. The accelerating globalization of business dictates that anyone aspiring to the C-suite at a big company now needs international (read: multicultural) experience; and employers need managers who won’t alienate overseas colleagues by running roughshod over their values and beliefs.

Ms. Hyun and her partner, Audrey Lee, who is a second-generation Chinese-American and a seasoned executive trainer, have counseled thousands of U.S.-based managers. Some of them send fan mail.

An Asian-American M.B.A. on the fast track at a global conglomerate headquartered in Manhattan, for one, credits Ms. Hyun’s coaching with helping her land a “a highly visible yearlong assignment throughout Latin America,” she wrote in an email. “This opportunity would not have emerged without you.”

News that FTSE 100 companies failed to meet government recommendations that women make up at least a quarter of their boards has come as little surprise to campaigners.

Despite a "huge leap" in the number of women appointed to non-executive posts this year, the latest report from Cranfield School of Management shows that the proportion of women on FTSE 100 boards has moved up only slightly, from 12.5% in December 2010 to 14.2%.

Although some companies, such as Burberry, have a high level of female representation at senior levels, others, such as International Power, have none. Half of all companies in the FTSE 250 have no female directors at all.

In the US, the story is much the same. Despite accounting for more than half of all jobs at financial companies, women fill a very small number of leadership positions in the corporate world, and the recession might be exacerbating this situation.

Female employees appear to be losing their jobs more easily than their male counterparts. Between 2007 and 2010 12.5% of women working in the UK financial sector lost their jobs, compared to 8.8% of men, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

New research has tried to address the disparity between the high level of education and early success of women, and their lack of representation further up the corporate hierarchy.

Rather than focus blame on inherently "male" cultures in the workplace, academics have attempted to look at issues that might be more immediately addressed, such as a lack of mentoring for female candidates and lack of imagination from chairmen about the professions which proffer suitable board members.

One area that many researchers seem keen to get away from is a conversation about the merits of employing women because of the perceived benefits that their gender might bring.

Stereotypes that pigeonhole women as more caring and emotionally intelligent are barriers - cliches that paint women as inherently less aggressive and more scared of risk, says Michelle Ryan, professor of social and organisational psychology at the University of Exeter. She believes that women continue to be under-represented at the top because changes in policy are not necessarily directly followed by changes in attitudes.

A new study on Japan by the Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP) which focuses on the career pathways of highly-qualified women finds a potential solution to this country’s talent crunch and demographic crisis.

A new study on Japan by the Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP) which focuses on the career pathways of highly-qualified women finds a potential solution to this country’s talent crunch and demographic crisis.

The CWLP report, entitled “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Japan: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success,” was launched today at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo.

The study finds that the vast majority (74%) of highly-qualified women in Japan take an off-ramp or voluntarily quit their jobs. The scale of this female exodus is massive, especially when compared to the U.S. (where 31% of highly-qualified women off-ramp) and Germany (where the number is 35%)

An important thread of good news in this research: off-ramps are short (2.4 years) and fully three-quarters (77%) of Japanese women want to rejoin the workforce, a finding that contradicts the commonly held view in Japan that women who quit do so for the long-haul.

However, despite the widespread desire to get back to work, on-ramps in Japan are few and far between. Of those Japanese women attempting to rejoin their careers, only 43% succeed in finding a job. This is a great pity, since these highly-qualified women could help solve the country’s looming talent shortage.

One surprising finding is that despite powerful “pull” factors centered in the traditional Japanese family, highly qualified women in Japan find push factors (centered in the workplace) even more important in forcing them out. Rigid workdays, a paucity of career development opportunities, and gender bias are just some of the factors that “push” women off the career track.

These factors contribute to leading many Japanese women to prefer working for U.S.- or Europe-headquartered multinational corporations which they feel are more sensitive to the needs of women than private sector Japanese companies.

Key findings:

Fully 74 percent of highly qualified Japanese women (college grads) off-ramp—more than twice the number in the U.S. (31%) and Germany (35%).

Only 32 percent of Japanese women off-ramp for childcare-related reasons, compared to 74 percent in the U.S. and 82 percent in Germany. Instead, 49 percent of working women in Japan quit because they feel stymied and stalled at work.

While three-quarters (77%) of off-ramped women want to get back on track, only 43 percent succeed in getting a job, compared to 73 percent in the U.S. and 68 percent in Germany.

Even those lucky enough to find a job face serious penalties in terms of earning power and progression. Forty-four percent are forced to take a pay cut, and many others face fewer management responsibilities and promotional prospects going forward.

Career-minded and ambitious Japanese women prefer to work at multinational companies. Sixty-eight percent believe that U.S.- or EU-headquartered companies are more woman-friendly than Japanese firms.

What would keep highly qualified Japanese women on the career track? The majority (66%) say they would not have quit their jobs if flexible work arrangements had been available.

In addition to exploring the career paths of highly-qualified Japanese, this study also details the policies and practices used by leading edge multinational corporations to attract, retain and accelerate female talent in Japan. These best practices benefit the private sector (allowing companies to leverage Japan’s impressive pool of female talent) and the country at large, since better utilization of highly-qualified women goes some distance towards alleviating Japan’s looming demographic crisis.

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Methodology:

Spearheaded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Cisco, and Goldman Sachs, research for the study comprised focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and a national survey among Japanese residents ages 21-62 with the equivalent of a U.S. bachelors’ degree. Data were weighted to accurately reflect the Japanese population (age, sex, and region). The survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks under the auspices of the Center for Work-Life Policy, a nonprofit research organization and comprised 1,582 respondents (438 women and 1,144 men).

About the Authors Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist and the founding President of the Center for Work- Life Policy, a non-profit think tank where she chairs the “Hidden Brain Drain,” a task force of 68 global companies committed to global talent innovation. She also directs the Gender and Policy Program at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. Dr. Hewlett is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum Council on Women’s Empowerment. She is the author of nine Harvard Business Review articles and 11 critically acclaimed nonfiction books including Off-Ramps and On-Ramps and Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets (Harvard Business Press). Her writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and the International Herald Tribune, and she is a featured blogger on Harvard Business Online and Forbes. In 2011 she received the Isabel Benham Award from the Women’s Bond Club and Woman of the Year Award from the Financial Women’s Association. She is a frequent guest on television, appearing on Oprah, Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Charlie Rose, the Today Show and CNN headline News. Hewlett has taught at Cambridge, Columbia and Princeton universities. A Kennedy Scholar and graduate of Cambridge University, she earned her PhD in economics at London University.

Laura Sherbin is Senior Vice President, Director of Research at the Center for Work-Life Policy where she heads up CWLP’s survey research. She is an economist specializing in work-life issues and gender. She is also an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University teaching “Women and Globalization.” She is coauthor of Harvard Business Review articles “How Gen Y & Boomers Will Reshape Your Agenda,” “Off- Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited” and Harvard Business Manager article “Letzte Ausfahrt Babypause” as well as Harvard Business Review Research Reports The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering and Technology and The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Through the Last Glass Ceiling. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware and earned her PhD in economics from American University.

Catherine Fredman is Managing Editor at the Center for Work-Life Policy. She has collaborated on five best-selling business books, including Direct from Dell with Michael Dell, Only the Paranoid Survive with Andy Grove, and Use the News with Maria Bartiromo, and has written memoirs with Andy Grove (Swimming Across) and for the Dell family. She is an award- winning magazine editor for consumer and corporate publications. Fredman is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College.

Claire Ho is a Research Associate at the Center for Work-Life Policy. She is a co-author of CWLP report “Asians in America: Unleashing the Potential of the ‘Model Minority.’” She has served as a statistical analyst at the Baha’i World Centre, research intern at the United Nations Development Programme, and management consultant to the New York City Mayor’s Office. She holds a BA from Barnard College and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Karen Sumberg is Senior Vice President at the Center for Work-Life Policy and a Director with the CWLP’s advisory services practice Sylvia Ann Hewlett Associates. She is an expert in gender, career-pathing and communications and leads research projects for the CWLP including “The Sponsor Effect,” “The Power of ‘Out:’ LGBT in the Workplace,” “Bookend Generations: Leveraging Talent and Finding Common Ground.” She is coauthor of Harvard Business Review articles, as well as Harvard Business Review Research Reports. Earlier in her career, Sumberg taught English in Japan and worked in media. She received her BA from the University of Maryland and her MBA from Fordham University.

The Center for Work Life Policy The Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP), a non-profit “think tank” based in New York City, has emerged as a thought leader in diversity and talent management, driving ground breaking research and seeding programs and practices that attract, retain and accelerate the new streams of talent around the world. CWLP’s flagship project is the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force—a private-sector task force focused on talent innovation. The 68 global corporations and organizations that constitute the Task Force—representing 4 million employees and operating in 190 countries around the world—are united by understanding that the full utilization of the talent pool is at the heart of competitive advantage and economic success.

"Women on Boards: Review and Outlook" includes statistics on the status of women on Fortune 1000 boards by company, industry, functional background, board leadership positions and other categories. The data was researched by CTPartners and supplemented by interviews with 50 directors, CEOs, CHROs and governance experts. The report includes suggestions to help boards add more women, tips for women interested in serving on boards, and steps for women serving on boards to strengthen their roles.

Marie E. Kelly, co-author of the report and Partner in the CEO and Board Practice at CTPartners, commented, "Our research uncovered pockets of improvement in the participation of women on boards as well as areas of concern.

Article compares the performance of the current fortune 500 companies with women CEOs to the S&P500 performance and their industry competitors from the start of the calendar year to present. Correlation and causation aside, the trend holds true: women have been ruling the stock market.

Statistically, female CEO-led companies have been ruling the stock market, which may explain why more women are scheduled to take the reigns of Fortune 500 companies than ever before.

This is a change from the grand total of 12 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies back in July. The number was a drop from the 15 in 2010, but a significant improvement over the single female CEO that made the list in 1996.

USA Today reports in the last few months alone, three other new female CEOs have emerged: Meg Whitman (pictured above) became Hewlett-Packard CEO in September, Denise Morrison took the CEO post at Campbell Soup in August, and Gracia Martore was named CEO of Gannett earlier this month.

Wednesday, pharmaceutical firm Mylan said Heather Bresch will succeed Robert Coury as CEO. Tuesday, IBM tapped Virginia “Ginni” Rometty to succeed Sam Palmisano, making her the first female CEO in the company’s 100-year history. Both appointments are effective Jan. 1st.

“If no women step down before the end of 2011, there will be 18 women running Fortune 500 companies in 2012. Previously, there haven’t been more than 16 female CEOs at Fortune 500 firms at the same time.”

Most females execs will be quick to claim their gender has little to do with their success as chief officer, but it would be hard to deny the studies that show overwhelmingly positive results for female-led companies. The trend is hard not to notice:

In July, USA Today reported “Fortune 500 companies that had a woman at the helm for all of 2009 were up an average 50%.” And according to Forbes: “as a group they outperformed the overall market–companies dominated by male chief executives–by 28%, on average, and topped their respective industries by 15% [in 2010].”

A 2007 research report by Catalyst Inc showed that among Fortune 500 companies, those with the greatest number of women on their boards performed significantly better financially than companies with fewer female board members.

Shareholders, pay attention: We’ve compared the performance of the current fortune 500 companies with women CEOs to the S&P500 performance and their industry competitors from the start of the calendar year to present. Correlation and causation aside, the trend holds true: women have been ruling the stock market.

Fewer countries made strides toward improving equality between men and women in 2011, while Nordic countries held the top spots, according to a ranking of 135 nations by the World Economic Forum.

Editorial:

From the article:

Fewer countries made strides toward improving equality between men and women this year, while Nordic countries held the top spots, according to a ranking of 135 nations by the World Economic Forum.

Iceland claimed the No. 1 position for the third year in a row, followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden, in the 2011 Global Gender Gap Index released today by the Geneva-based group. Of the countries surveyed, 55 percent narrowed the gender gap, compared with 59 percent the previous year, while 85 percent improved gender-equality ratios since the first survey in 2006.

“Women make up one-half of the brain power of the human capital that’s available to an economy,” Saadia Zahidi, head of the World Economic Forum’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity program and co-author of the report, said in an interview. “If that one-half is not fully integrated into a particular country’s development and into its development over time, it’s fairly evident that there would be a detrimental effect.”

The survey measures the difference between men’s and women’s economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment. While differences in health and education are disappearing, women still lag behind in economic participation, which includes salaried and skilled jobs, and political representation, according to the report.

“Labor-force participation is where the success starts to drop off,” said Laura D’Andrea Tyson, a co-author of the report and professor at the University of California-Berkley, during a press briefing today about the study in New York.

The Global Gender Gap Index, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education- and health-based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time. The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them. The methodology and quantitative analysis behind the rankings are intended to serve as a basis for designing effective measures for reducing gender gaps.

Fortune Magazine's annual Most Powerful Women list arrived on newsstands last week. With it comes inevitable chatter from the business press about who is in and who is out, who moved up a few notches and who has been knocked down a few pegs. And yet, perhaps what is most striking about the list is not the jockeying among the boldface names. Rather, it is the fact that even amid a lingering financial crisis that has highlighted poor governance and the scarcity of senior women at big corporations, the total number of women CEOs in the Fortune 500 is only 15, up from just two when the list debuted in 1998.

Indeed, at a time when women have gained more standing in politics and society, they have not made equal progress at the top of corporate America. Women comprise half of the workforce but hold only 16% of the board seats in Fortune 500 companies. More than 10% of those companies have no women serving on their boards.

In many countries, the numbers are even starker. Women hold approximately 12% of the seats on corporate boards in Germany, the United Kingdom and France. In China, women hold 8.5% of board seats; in India, that figure is 5.3%, and in Japan, only .9% of directors are women, according to data compiled by Catalyst, a nonprofit group seeking to expand opportunities for women in business.

Efforts to change this, however, have been under way for several years. Norway in 2003 passed a quota law requiring that by 2008, 40% of all board members at state-owned and publicly listed companies had to be women. Today, women represent 37.9% of corporate boards in Norway, according to the European Professional Women's Network. Other countries, including Spain and the Netherlands, have passed similar laws.

But while quotas accomplish one very big goal, they have unintended negative effects. For one, companies looking to appoint new board members end up choosing from a smaller talent pool. Because the pool is narrowed, the candidates are less experienced. Second, quotas could perversely perpetuate discrimination; companies might purposely appoint less competent women to the board as tokens, but not take their views seriously. Instead, rules that encourage companies to foster diversity on their boards -- rather than coerce them into all looking the same -- may be a better way to get more women in U.S. boardrooms, experts say.

Mobile phone ownership in low and middle-income countries has skyrocketed in the past several years. But a woman is still 21% less likely to own a mobile phone than a man. This figure increases to 23% if she lives in in Africa, 24% if she lives in the Middle East, and 37% if she lives in South Asia. Closing this gender gap would bring the benefits of mobile phones to an additional 300 million women. By extending the benefits of mobile phone ownership to more women, a host of social and economic goals can be advanced.